archives

april 2005 front page

april 2005 features

Fraternity House: Where's the love, ya'll?
In a culture obsessed with vitality, beauty, and avoiding mortality, why is it that some people just love to be around men who have AIDS?  The answer can be found at Fraternity House, one of San Diego's only two licensed full-service residential homes for those who are chronically ill with AIDS.

Monarch School provides education for youth who take nothing for granted
The entire student population of Monarch School is either currently, or has recently been, homeless.  Through strong academic programs and extensive creative outlets, Monarch School offers a safe place and a future to kids who have no permanent address.

Meet local ecological designer Jim Bell and his take on environment, politics, and San Diego
Could San Diego increase its environmental sustainability and get out of debt at the same time?  Jim Bell says it's possible, and he's got a plan to make it happen.  Meet the ecological designer who has run for mayor, gained international recognition for his environmentally sustainable building designs, and demonstrated a deep concern for the future of San Diego.

Churches have no business doing business with neo-liberal economics
German scholar, Dr. Ulrich Duchrow, discusses the moral and physical dangers of neo-liberal economics and why people of faith should not participate in this economic system.

Camp Stevens: Cultivating faith and environmental caretaking
Camp Stevens is vibrantly living out the connection between faith and environmental responsibility.  The camp and conference center, owned and operated by the Dioceses of San Diego and Los Angeles, utilizes sustainable living and organic gardening practices and teaches campers to do the same.

Homeless Court lifts burden of unresolved citations
In Homeless Court, barriers are removed and homeless people are seen as people, not as problems. For fifteen years, Homeless Court has been assisting people without homes in their struggle to make positive changes.

Urban Growers Guild breathes green into city
If your potted garden or dying patch of lawn needs a little more water and a lot of inspiration, dig your trowel into the Urban Growers Guild.

column: privilege & this justice thing
In "privilege and this justice thing," the editor finds roots of a growing social awareness even in the soil of her comfortable and insulated upbringing.

living wage: what it is, who it affects, why it matters 
Dr. Jamie Gates, director of the Center for Justice and Reconciliation, reflects on his interaction with Marlena, one of many San Diegans trying to get by on minimum wage.  Dr. Gates argues that more than an economic issue, a living wage is one of the fundamentals of a sustainable society.

Suggestions from Jim Bell in just enough
No matter where you are in the journey toward a sustainable lifestyle, this section offers easily integrated practices for living more lightly on this earth.  This month's column features suggestions from local ecological designer, Jim Bell. 

april 2005 the alley

Poetry by students at the Monarch School:
     untitled by keon
     I Have a Dream by bianca

wet paint
Fresh impressions from art director nigel brookes, connecting how students from monarch school cope with the shame of being homeless through participation in the arts.

the monarch mural
A work of blistering beauty.  It speaks of the sorrow, fear, hope, and healing experienced by the young people at monarch school for homeless youth.

after words
see what four students had to say about their relationship with art

Hope Tweed in student to student
Recently, Hope Tweed, a home-schooled 8th grade student, traveled to Mexico for the first time to build houses with Youth With a Mission.  Her reflections on the experience reveal that no matter how young a person is, she can still make a difference in the world. 

Pam Shimmin in family to family
Pam Shimmin has passed on to her two daughters one of the most important legacies a parent can leave - an appreciation for the blessings of growing up in a comfortable American home that goes beyond a simple prayer at the dinner table.